


That Was Unexpected

by katling



Series: Chauncey The Bear [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Venatori, a little bit of swearing, very minor battle scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 05:19:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3965866
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katling/pseuds/katling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cassandra confronts Cullen. He survives! Intact even. And Chauncey has a surprise up his sleeve. Technically. Since bears don’t actually <i>have</i> sleeves.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And we continue on with the madcap adventures of Evelyn and Chauncey the bear. There is something wrong with me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That Was Unexpected

When the door to his office slammed open, Cullen did his best not to flinch. He had a sneaking suspicion who it might be even before he raised his head from the report he’d been reading and when he finally did, he found he wasn’t wrong. Cassandra was standing stiffly on the opposite side of his desk with a thunderous expression on her face. The glare alone was enough to make him want to reach for his sword and shield. Except that would only make things worse, all things told. If he was essentially unarmed, Cassandra might be inclined to only beat him lightly.

“You bought it.”

Cullen couldn’t help the wince and he knew that was a mistake. Never let them see a weakness. That was one of the first things he’d been taught in training. But he’d winced and there was no point in denying it now.

“Er… yes.”

“You bought that wretched little creature and gave it to the Inquisitor.”

“Er… yes,” Cullen said and then his lips curved with a tiny smile as he remembered Evelyn’s reaction to his gift.

Cassandra’s eyes narrowed dangerously when she saw that smile and she leaned forward, her hands propped on the desk. It made Cullen lean back a little.

“You gave that bear to the Inquisitor and she is deliriously happy.”

Cullen blushed and ducked his head, one hand creeping up around the back of his neck almost involuntarily. “Er… yes.”

“She is deliriously happy and has been going on at length about precisely how much and why to anyone who will listen.”

Cullen looked up with surprise and saw that Cassandra’s combative stance had eased. She was now standing upright with her arms crossed over her chest and looking rather amused.

“She has?” he asked.

“She has,” Cassandra affirmed dryly. “And rumour has it that your soldiers found their training this morning to be almost… pleasant.”

Cullen opened his mouth to say something then closed it again and frowned. “Well… I’ll have to do something about _that_ tomorrow,” he grumbled.

Cassandra turned and headed for the door. She paused with one hand on the doorknob. “It is good to see you looking so well, Commander.” She walked out the door and looked back with an arch raise of her eyebrows. “And if that bear eats anything of mine, we shall have words, Commander. _Words_.”

With that, she closed the door firmly behind her and Cullen collapsed back in his chair with a mix of relief, amusement and consternation.

********

“You brought the bear along,” Varric said dubiously, eying the little white bear in question with a raised eyebrow.

“It’s the Hinterlands,” Evelyn said a little defensively. “We’ve pretty much cleared out everything that’s dangerous and Chauncey deserves the chance to have a proper run around.”

Cassandra made a disgusted noise behind them but Evelyn ignored her. She even refrained from pointing out that the _Seeker_ had been the one surreptitiously feeding Chauncey scraps at dinner the previous night. She was magnanimous that way. She knew Cassandra wasn’t anywhere _near_ as annoyed as she pretended to be. Cullen still had all his body parts intact after all. Evelyn knew that for a fact. She’d checked personally before they’d left.

“Still,” Varric continued. “He hasn’t shown much in the way of self-protection instincts.”

“The miniaturisation may have addled his brain,” Dorian added from the other side of the dwarf. “That sort of magic is highly temperamental. There’s a reason why the Imperium isn’t awash with teeny critters despite the small fortune any decent mage could make by selling them.”

“Hey!” Evelyn said in protest. “He is _not_ addled.”

“Evie darling, he is not a normal bear,” Dorian pointed out. “We’ve met normal bears. They usually try and eat our faces. If he was a normal bear, he’d still be trying to eat our faces, he’d just be too small to reach.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s _addled_ ,” Evelyn said with exasperation. “Maybe the mage used some sort of spell to tame him.”

“It’s possible,” Dorian said with a conceding nod. “But you won’t let me near him to check.”

“He’s only little. He doesn’t need you poking and prodding at him.”

Dorian chuckled. “I’d only poke and prod a little, Evie. Besides, we really ought to have some idea of what he’s all about.”

Evelyn grumbled. “Maybe. I’ll think about it when we get back to Skyhold.”’

The conversation came to an abrupt halt when the Venatori came round the nearby corner at a run, nearly stomping all over the little white bear who had been running ahead.

“ _Chauncey_!” Evelyn yelled with fright then her face filled with anger.

They barely had time to ready their weapons when a loud roar stunned them all. Especially the Venatori, who were somewhat surprised to suddenly find a _large_ white bear in their midst. A very _angry_ large white bear. 

Evelyn, Cassandra, Varric and Dorian watched, rather nonplussed, as the very _large_ version of Chauncey decimated the Venatori mages and warriors in a matter of minutes, accompanied by loud angry roars and the somewhat sickening crunch of bones and armour. When the bear was done, he turned to look at them with what could only be called smug satisfaction.

“Well,” Evelyn said as Chauncey began to amble towards them. “That was unexpected.”

“Yeah,” Varric said, looking at Chauncey nervously. “Should we be running or something?”

“That _might_ be worth thinking about,” Dorian said, his eyes wide.

“I told you the bear would be nothing but trouble,” Cassandra added, though she seemed torn between being impressed by what had happened and being ready to wield sword and shield against Chauncey.

Evelyn opened her mouth to reply but as she did, the great enormous bear began to… get smaller. Not all at once but as he ambled towards them, he began slowly shrinking until, when he had reached them, he was his usual teeny self. He butted his head against Evelyn’s leg and gave a barking roar, almost as though he was demanding praise.

Evelyn obliged and scooped him up in her arms and patted him. “Who’s a brave bear? You are! Yes, you are! You saved us all! Good boy, Chauncey.”

The little bear looked smug and happy as he wriggled in her arms and the others exchanged looks.

“You know,” Varric said as he slung Bianca on his back again. “I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going to try to find a new title for my book about the Inquisitor. _This Shit Is Weird_ works just fine.”


End file.
